Dancing Without The Rain
by BigDamnHeros
Summary: All she ever wanted was to be left alone. All he wanted was to be able to live life with no further mishaps. Faith ignored their unsubtle requests, and together, they are in for more then they expected. REVIEW PLEASE
1. A New Begining and an Old Ending

**Title:** Dancing Without The Rain

**Rating:** PG-13

**Summary**: All she ever wanted was to be left alone. All he ever wanted was not to be with someone who would reject him. Fate ignored their unsubtle requests, and together, they may be in for more then they expected.

**Categories** Romance/Humour

**Disclaimer:** Yes, that's right, I own them. And if you'll excuse me, I have two wishes remaining...

&&&

Class 49 was a total mystery to all the teachers working at 'Tortall High'. You could not wish for brighter students; when test season came, the passed with flying colours. All the drama productions which had a Class 49 student running or participating in it were smash hits. Their athletes were offered scholarships on a regular basis, and they always raised huge amounts of money for whatever charity the school would support that year.

They also refused to be taught.

The board of education was always astounded at the way the class seemed to run through teachers. At one point the class had been sending out the weekly substitutes as well. But when questioned as to why they all did this; all anyone in the class would do was sit there and stare blankly at their interrogator. The school wasn't ready to give up. They were desperate to get _anyone_ who was even remotely qualified to teach a class in the vague hope that it might work this time. However the last teacher, who had been a hardened army general and a part-time juvenile hall lecturer, had run sobbing from the class room. So understandably, the school hadn't been too hopeful when their newest applicant came to be interviewed.

The secretary looked at the young woman before her. She seemed far too tame to handle Class 49. Nevertheless, she had been promised an interview, and if they let her go it would most likely do her good. This was going to be her first teaching job _ever_! They would chew her up and spit her out within a week. Smile still plastered on to her face, the secretary ushered the young woman into the headmaster's office.

She never really knew what had gone on in there, but half an hour later, she was informed, rather matter-of-factly, that Keladry Mindelan had been hired.

&&&

Jonathan and Thayet Contè were in a state of shock. Neither of them was quite sure how it had happened. One seconded, they had prepared to reject this young girl with an unremarkable resume announcing that this was her first job; and the next, they had for some reason, let her speak. Their son Roald had recommended her to them, and they were confidant in his judgment, but it was only until she began to talk to them that they were blown away.

Her voice was calm a breezy, she was witty, without being extreme. She was soon telling them that when she came to work –had they hired her? They must have, or she wouldn't have been going on like this! - she was only qualified to teach Math's and English; but she wouldn't mind working as a homeroom teacher too. When they asked her, desperate for some sign that they were still in control of the situation, why she couldn't teach all their subjects, she convinced them that their old subject teachers would have no trouble taking that task on.

Then they shook hands and she was hired.

When they calmed down though, they figured that she could teach for a term or so, no one had managed to stick around longer, and in the meantime they could look for 'proper' candidates.

&&&

Keladry walked home that day with weak knees and a giddy feeling in the pit of her stomach. The crisp autumn air blew harder, making her pull her coat tighter. When she arrived at her large Victorian style house, she fumbled in her pocket for her keys. Sliding it into the lock, she opened the door and stepped inside, taking off her shoes as she did so.

Kel shared the house with four other people, Roald Contè, Owen Jesslaw, Cleon Kennan, and Lalassa Warrington. Their great number was the only reason that the bills got paid every month.

Opening the door she yelled to let everyone know she was home, and then walked up the stairs to her room. Keladry was of the firm opinion that it was the nicest room in the house; big and open, with a tall pointed ceiling. The others said that it was too spacey; they felt like they were being swallowed up. However Keladry had grown up fighting with her many brothers, sister, and even cousins, leaving her with the instinct to fight for space, and such a room all to herself was heaven. She padded barefoot over her wooden floorboards and surveyed the room, feeling a wave of calm wash over her as she stut the door, leaving herself ensconced inside her sanctuary

On one side of the room, three slightly short floor windows were flanked by two taller and wider ones. A large arching window was placed above it, bathing the room in a soft white light. A large Weeping Fig Tree stood in wooden pot, its leaves also taking pleasure in what light it could, as the sky was darkening now. On the floor was a lovely rug with a cherry blossom theme, beige and white, and faint splashes of pink where the blossoms were.

Her bed was a large cast iron one, with a cotton duvet and white silk sheets. She had slept in some at a hotel in Bali; they had become a secret fetish of hers. To the other side of the room were her television, large wardrobe, and a white door leading to the bathroom. And on the east wall was a bookshelf the size of a house, crammed with random photos, and lots and lot of books; it was the only remotely disorganized thing in the room. And other than two artfully placed bean bags (also white), there was nothing except-

_Meow_

"Okay, okay!" said Kel, her eyes shining, "I'm here!" Bending down she scooped up the little tabby, crooning softly into his ears, with a delightful purr as a reward for her services. Kel had originally had a dog named Jump. A raggedy scrap of a creature, but Kel loved him, and a more loyal companion you could not find. Kel had been quietly devastated when he died, and the cat had been a gift from her friends to cheer her up. So far though, they hadn't managed to find a name for the thing, and were thus reduced to simply calling it 'Cat'.

Kel was still on her bed stroking Cat, when Roald came in. Kel glanced up, surprised, but relaxed when she saw who it was.

"Hey," said Roald flashing Kel a quick grin. He was a quiet, reserved man, with many of his father and mother's fine attributes. He was currently working at some boring poilitics job, but he seemed to love his life… though the fact that his girlfriend of three years Shinkokami worked there too and could see him at any time might have been a key factor in his love for his work.

"So how did it go? Did you say everything I told you to?" he asked, sitting on her bed.

"Followed your advice down to the letter. But I was so frightened!" Kel said, laughing "They were staring, like you said they would, but they just kept doing it! And you know how I hate drawing attention to myself. I think I might've started babbling at one point. But I got the job!"

"So my imprudent psychobabble actually works?" said Roald

"Yes it does," Kel replied

"And through following my advise you obtained a fairly well paying occupation?"

"Yes I did."

"And so by following this pattern we can conclude that I should be dubbed the supreme god of your universe?"

"How about we just stick with the regular 'you're the best Roald' thing hmm?"

Roald sighed "Well I suppose it will have to do. Common, dinner's ready."

Kel glanced around, and was surprised to see that she was sitting in the dark with her lamp on. "Okay, I'm coming, gimme a sec."

When Roald left, Kel lay on her bed, no longer stroking Cat as she had followed Roald out, just like Kel had expected she would after the word 'dinner'.

'_You know how I hate to draw attention to myself…'_

"And I studied to be a teacher?" Kel asked, not really caring if the question ever got answered or not.

&&&

"You're…you're…you're _dumping_ me?" shrieked Uline

"Yes, that would appear to be the case," came the reply.

"How could you? You self centered loathsome, vile, disgusting-"

"Can you just say 'pig' and hurry on up with the storming out of the place thing?" the voice said.

Uline's face turned scarlette with rage, and she looked like she damn well was going to storm out of there, but she wouldn't leave without having the last word. "You are going to wake up one day, childless, and alone, with nobody at your side." she hissed.

"Well fingers crossed yeah, why so concerned?"

"Oh, I'm just feeling sorry for you. I'm a nice person; I know someone is going to fall in love with me one of these days. I know that I won't push him away. But," she snarled, "I know that one day, your going to fall in love, find the one person you want to spend the rest of your life with, and you'll find that they _don't want you_. And you will be hurt beyond words. And on that day, should I hear about it, I'll laugh."

With that, she turned and stormed out.

"Don't worry about me love, I'll be fine. So what if it does happen to me? It's already happened once, I should be well prepared." The man muttered. Taking out his mobile phone, the man decided to call Cleon. When he was around he never made you feel lonely. And right now, Nealan Queenscove was feeling very much alone.

**A/N**: well, what do you think? I have big plans for this story, BIG PLANS! Please review, and let me know what you think. I offer everything from cookies, to chocolate, to toy replicas of my 'Flaming Squeaky Hammer of Insanity'. Any takers?


	2. Answered Questions and Plain Old Answers

**Title:** Dancing Without the Rain

**Rating:** PG-13

**Summary**: All she ever wanted was to be left alone. All he ever wanted was not to be with someone who would reject him. Fate ignored their unsubtle requests, and together, they may be in for more then they expected.

**Categories** Romance/Humour

**Disclaimer:** You know there's a funny story relating to this. You see; my great aunt's cousin by marriage twice removed had a friend whose daughter...

**A/N: **Wow, one chapter and already so much support! I am really flattered; seriously, the only reason I am updating so fast is because my head is too swollen to fit through the door! I love you all very much, and I hope you keep reviewing. Remember, the bigger my head gets, the more I am confined to writing on Microsoft Word.

**_Chapter Two_**

****

Kel asks a question, and Neal…Lets Not Go There 

&&&

Kel sat at the dinner table, it was Owen's turn to cook tonight, and so all senses were on high alert for the little things that prevented Owen's cooking from reaching perfection. Things like mixing up the sugar and salt, putting in watered down syrup instead of Soy Sauce…putting chopped watermelon into the frying pan instead of the raw meat –It turned brown with the syrup anyway, so was he really to blame for not noticing? – Little things.

Fortunately, Owen had come back from work really tired, and only had the energy to make a quick salad (no dressing except that from the bottle) and put out some re-fried beans and taco shells. Even though he had come into the house singing and dancing until he had heard it was his turn to cook.

Taking her plate from Owen, she asked how his day went. Then his ears turned burgundy and he muttered a "Jolly good," under his breath. Frowning slightly before smoothing it over with her mask, Kel resolved to beat the information from him at the table.

Sitting down at her seat, Kel waited until Lalassa -who was still painfully shy- had stopped blushing at being around so many people, before looking at Owen and saying, quite simply:

"Spill, now."

Looking around like a rabbit searching for an escape hole, but he found no comfort in the faces of his friends. His eyes darted frantically back to Kel, who had raised a delicate eyebrow. The only other sign that her facial expression had changed at all was the tiny quirk in the right corner of her mouth.

"You look exactly like Neal when you do that," said Owen, a half grin flashing across his face, which had stopped looking as 'jolly' as usual a little while back.

"You know," Kel answered, her expression now thoughtful, "I have never actually met this Neal what is he- wait, don't change the subject!"

Silently cursing Kel's ability to not get caught in a trap – something he was certain that she had learned in 'Teachers School' – Owen bit the bullet.

"There is this girl, her name is Isabelle, she works in accounting, and we got to talking at lunch time and she's really great! Funny, pretty, and really smart, the problem is though, the fact that she gets nervous a lot…and when she does she goes all…_serious_."

The last word was uttered in a whisper. Owen could deal with most things, anger, depression, fits of insanity, but seriousness was a totally foreign concept to him.

"It gets worse," Owen admitted, looking very intently at the blue leaves that decorated the rims of his plate, "she likes suave, _charming_ guys. I mean me? Charming? I haven't even got the guts to ask her out because I know it will end in tears. But…I really like her."

Kel fiddled with her fork for a moment, before deciding to give Owen what he was silently asking for; their blessing- literally.

"Let us pray," said Kel, taking the hands of a smirking Clean and Roald. When everyone on the table was holding hands, Kel continued, "please O Mighty One, bless Owen Jesslaw with charm, spunk, game -and generally all the things that separate him from his lady love- immediately."

There was another moment of silence and then-

"Okay, okay, enough blasphemy, let's eat!"

Just before they were about to tuck in though, Cleon's mobile phone began blaring 'Mission Impossible'.

"That'll be Neal," groaned Cleon, abandoning the table.

"How do you know?" Lalassa asked

"I reserve the Mission Impossible ring tone for Neal only. It suits him," came the reply, "Hello Neal."

While the idea of identifying the people in you life through a ring tone, was causing the other people on the table to pass around 'looks', Kel however did nothing. After all, she _did_ have the Adam's Family reserved for the members of her kooky group.

"Okay, fine…jus- just- okay! Fine man, I'll be there." Cleon snapped his phone shut. "Look, I have to go, don't wait up."

"Dumped someone again?" Roald asked, an eyebrow raised

"In one,"

With a curt nod, Cleon grabbed his wallet, keys, and phone, and performed a complex maneuver which enabled him to stuff them into his coat pocket while putting it on at the same time. Necessaries done, he waved and strode out the door.

Dinner finished without much more trouble, and then everyone went off to do their separate things. Kel just went to her room, and bathed for about an hour, washing away all the stress the day had brought. Stepping out of her tub, Kel slipped into her panties, and pulled a REALLY big t-shirt over her head. It was grey, and covered her thighs, which was something to say for it considering how tall Kel was. Padding across the room, Kel slid in between her bed sheets, loving the liquid feel as the white silk slid and pooled around her bare legs.

As she put her head down against the pillow, the darkness at the edges of her brain cloaked her mind in a way not unlike her duvet.

&&&

"So, that's what happened," a very very _very_ tipsy Neal concluded, hiccupping a bit. He was by no means a man who couldn't hold his liquor, but the combined efforts of the drinks he'd had before the date, during the date, waiting for Cleon, and telling the story had worn him out.

Rolling his eyes, Cleon couldn't help but snap, "You have to get over this Yuka, yuni-"

"Yuki?"

"Yeah, this _Yuki_ girl," signaling for a check Cleon continued his rant, the alcohol making him more loose tongued, "she's just done you in man, no girl is ever going to be able to be 'the one' you keep ranting about unless you give her a chance!"

"But their so…schilly," said Neal, his distaste evident even through his slurs, "I, want a girl hoosh…Shexy..Tough…Bitesh back ya know?"

Realising how badly Neal was slurring, Cleon paid the bill and set off on his quest: 'Bring Neal Home without Him Puking on You'

It was going to be a long night.

&&&

Class 49 had been spreading their news among themselves like wildfire. A _Teacher_? Hadn't they made it clear they didn't need one? Well, whatever happened, they were going to fix this little 'issue'.

**A/N**: REVIEW!!!!!!!!! BUT ALSO REMEMBER: this was a very rare thing for me; I don't usually update THIS fast. Expect the next chapter to come after a longer period of time.


	3. Bad Service in Starbucks and a Showdown

**Title:** Dancing Without The Rain

**Rating:** PG-13

**Summary**: All she ever wanted was to be left alone. All he ever wanted was not to be with someone who would reject him. Fate ignored their unsubtle requests, and together, they may be in for more then they expected.

**Categories** Romance/Humour

**Disclaimer: **I'm shameless. I don't own Neal OR Kel. I stole them. Shhh! Not so loud. Their rightful owners, Tamora Pierce and her Publishers, aren't even looking for them. I substituted some cheap clones for the real things - I'm very cunning.

**_A/N:_** I'm DONE! Told you this chappie would take longer! But it is better. I have no beta, so you have to take me as I am. My regular Beta is kind busy with _other_ things pointed look at SA and Altar of Light? Let's just say the guy wouldn't/couldn't delete a comma if it shot him an insult that beat up his mother and involved him doing very questionable things with a sheep…Yes, why I love the guy is a mystery. And how the guy puts up with me is a mystery too.

**_Chapter Three_**

Bad Service in Starbucks and a Showdown

Kel woke up to the vaguely annoying beeping that was her alarm clock. Raising an eyelid with an effort that would have left most weight lifters impressed, her left hand fumbled around before pressing the beeping alarm cock to an eyeball.

5:55 it read, its bright red numbers mocking her. Placing the alarm clock back on the bedside table and switched it off. Pulling herself out of bed, Kel made her bed and then tottered over to the bathroom. She needed a shower.

Kel's bathroom was very much wooden. Wooden floors, wooden paneling, heck, the toilet seat was wooden. Her bathtub/shower unit was one of those 'sink into the floor types' which she hated. Despite being aesthetically pleasing, it was very hard to take a bath without splashing water everywhere.

Turning on the hot tap for the shower, Kel removed her clothing and stepped into the gushing stream of hot water, shivering slightly as it hit her cool skin. Squeezing some soap into her palm, Kel rubbed her hands together and began to wash. Thinking about what the day might bring.

Neal woke up, and then wished he hadn't.

Envision for a moment, if you will, a really bad head ache; you know the type. The ones where you think that maybe some Norse God mistook your head for an anvil, and when he discovered you weren't one, decided to slowly melt your brains out in anger. You always wake up during the brain melting bit. Got that? Good. Now at the same time, feel violently ill.

Congratulations! You now have Neal Queenscove's hangover. Groaning in agony, Neal rolled over, and then decided then and there that maybe moving, breathing, and being alive right now was a very bad idea.

Footsteps that threatened to split his skull in two approached. Then a voice.

"Hey, Queenscove, you alive?" it was Cleon.

"Jesus man, don't walk so loud!"

A chuckle, and then Cleon opened his mouth to speak again, "Fine, I was just leaving. Go back to sleep."

"No, no, I'm up."

"In that case my hangover remedy is in the fridge."

"Cheers,"

When Cleon left, Neal checked the time.

6:11

Crawling out of bed, Neal staggered over to the fridge, and fumbled with the handle before reaching in and pulling out a glass. Neal stared at the fluorescent red liquid, and then slung it down. Though in moments of boredom, Neal had often spared a thought for Cleon's magical hangover cure, he never wanted to know what went inside that glass.

It looked, smelt, and tasted a lot like cat piss, but combined with an aspirin, it worked wonders. Cleon said he got it from some 'Kel' girl. Either way, it was a damn good hangover cure. Massaging his skull, Neal glanced at the clock on his kitchen wall.

Fifteen minuets, a broken glass, a spilt hangover cure, and much, much, _much_, cursing later; Neal was out the front door.

Sitting in a local Starbucks, Neal nipped at his latté. He ordinarily would have gone to his usual café, a nice out of the way place near his office, but he had to go to some 'school board' meeting near here. He often went establishments like his regular café, under the basis that the service, food, and general everything of the place was better. And the stubborn knowledge that 'They were here first' and that just because a snazzy processed company showed up was no reason to stop their business.

"Can I get one large cup of coffee please?" came a voice. It was a nice voice. But it had also made a big mistake.

"What type?"

"Regular." Yep, a very big mistake.

"Yeah miss, but like, yuh know, what type? Yeah." It was the dweebish, mind numbingly stupid alto that could only be accomplished by a teenage boy, who thought he was all that.

"Um…a regular cup of coffee?" came the voice again. Nice voice, and definitely female.

"Yeah, but what _type_ yuh know? Latté, cappuccino, espresso, what?"

There was a deep breath, "Listen," there was a pause, "…Horis, I just want a very large cup of coffee, with lots of milk and one sugar. Okay? A cup of coffee, just like the one which millions of people drink everyday." The voice had a soft, soothing timbre to it, even when it was tensed in frustration. It was a very nice voice.

Another pause, "So…you want an Americano?"

Neal chose this moment to intervene, and save the bearer of the nice voice having to beat her head on the counter in aggravation.

"Kid, just give the lady a freaken' Americano, it may not be exactly what she wants, but it'll at least remove you from her presence."

Apparently, some sort of survival gene kicked in, because Horis then scampered off to do Neal's bidding.

"Thanks…whoever you are, you know, do you always make a habit of helping out complete strangers?"

Turning to answer something like 'Gee, I don't know, are you always this rude to people who help you?' he froze. His first sight was of her black boots. Nice, sturdy boots, with a very sturdy heel. Then he saw jeans. Jeans which, he noticed were covering legs that seemed to go on for _days_, and a simple shirt, covered by a suede jacket.

She had short brown hair; poker straight that only barely went passed her jaw line. A heart shaped face with a dainty nose and soft mouth. Dragging his gaze up to her eyes he then just looked at her.

Something in his hormonal driven gaze however, must have conveyed his original message, because she then smiled in a faintly embarrassed way.

"Sorry, you were only helping."

Collecting her order from Horis, the woman paid her fee (no tip whatsoever after a service like that!) and strolled out of the building.

Only then did his brain start functioning enough to yell at him for not even asking her name.

Class 49 did not know what to expect when they entered their classroom that day. Their teacher was apparently a woman, though they did not know her name. How long would she last?

When they got there however, they were in for a big surprise.

She sat on the desk.

The teachers that the class was used to never sat on desks. In fact, they never wore jeans before, or boots; come to think of that. And all their female teachers were middle-aged women. And teachers, as a rule, never wore sued jackets.

They were entering uncharted territory, and they didn't like it. The class twittered themselves into silence, as their new teacher just sat on the desk and waited for them to finish. All the while her face was like a stone slate, blank and impassive. They waited in silence for a full minute before she began to speak.

"Good morning, my name is Ms. Mindelan. As I am sure you have been informed, I am your teacher for Maths, English, and Homeroom." Ms. Mindelan looked at the class for a second, and then she pulled out a booklet, opened it up, and began to- _Roll call_?

As far as the class could recall, nobody had done a register, except when they were in Primary school. And even then it had died out after a while. Oh well, they were a small class, only about 20 of them.

When she gets down to the name Beth King, however, the voice of Queen Bee Rita Anderson seemed to break out of the spell.

"What," she said, "is the point of _this?_"

Ms. Mindelan raised a delicate eyebrow, but made no move to stop her.

"Yeah!" chimed two girls sitting next to her.

Her face still blank, Ms. Mindelan said "You are Rita Anderson correct?" she said, jabbing her pen in Rita's general direction.

"Yeah," she replied hautily, snapping her gum in the process, "so?"

But the teacher continued as if she hadn't heard, "And you two girls are Greta Armstrong and Arita Brightman."

"Its _Gr**i**ta_," snapped Greta, chewing her gum loudly.

"Pardon?" another raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, like _Rita_ only with a 'G' you know?" said Arita, blowing a big bubble like it settled the matter.

Ms. Mindelan put down her pen, and walked towards the girls. This was it.

_Showtime_

A/N: this chappie was a bit longer, but I have a bit of writers block running around my head. Fourtunately it is the Chinese New Year holiday, so I have more time to work.

REVIEW! And happy year of the rooster!


	4. An Anticlimax and A Very Sorry Author

**Title:** Dancing Without The Rain

**Rating:** PG-13

**Summary**: All she ever wanted was to be left alone. All he ever wanted was to live life without any further mishaps. Fate ignored their unsubtle requests, and together, they may be in for more then they expected.

**Categories** Romance/Humour

**Disclaimer: **insert witty remark to the effect that Kel and Neal are the property of Tammy here

Kel walked slowly and steadily towards the three girls. All of them were very beautiful she supposed, if you liked the type.

Greta was obviously the gossip. Tall and thin, with an impressive cup size for someone who looked about eighty pounds, her features were sharp and rat like in the right lighting. Her eyes were always darting maliciously around the room, like she knew something you didn't. Yep, definitely the gossip.

Arita on the other hand, was a…there was no other word for it, slut. Kel disliked the word, because it had been thrown at her too many times to count, but looking at Arita, she saw immediately why people used it as an insult. Shorter than Greta, she looked very thin too, her breasts were a fair size, though they threatened to spill out of her low, low, _low_ slung top. Her flip-flops were used to artfully display the words: 'Horny Bitch', the letters painted with a practiced precision on each toenail. Her clothes was so short, that several scathing comments sprang to mind, and Kel had to make a conscious effort not to say 'Nice belt, where's the skirt?'

Then there came the Queen Bee. Rita. She was very beautiful, long honey blond hair, natural highlights, a spaghetti top that tapered to the waist, showing off her form as well as the '_just_ acceptable length' skirt did. Mithros, didn't any of the girls know it was autumn? This girl though, Kel liked the least. There was something…spiteful about her, something in her that genuinely _liked_ causing people pain. She'd have to watch out for this one.

"The point of this, Ladies," Kel said, her voice a deadly whisper, "is that I am the teacher, and you are the student. You listen to me, and you don't argue. Have I made myself clear?"

An insincere nod.

"And a detention for all three of you,"

"WHAT!" cried Greta, hastily blowing three bubble in quick succession to calm herself down.

"No gum is allowed in this class room, it makes the three of you look disgusting, like cows chewing cud. I can't look up from my desk each day and see that! If you spit out the gum though, and promise never to do it again, I might let you off."

Grumbling like crazy, the girls did so.

Kel smiled prettily, and went back to her desk.

Neal sat in the meeting room, bored out of his skull. Wyldon Cavall, 'The Stump' as Neal like to call him, was making a long involved speech about how they should fire this new teacher immediately. He hadn't read the briefing, but the gist of it was:

New female teacher.

Wyldon sexist.

Wyldon hates new female teacher.

He couldn't take it any longer. He stood up, "Mr. Cavall?"

"What?" snapped Wyldon, looking very put out at being interrupted.

"Could we just keep this teacher here? Its barley been twenty four hours since she was hired, and we don't know how the kids will react to her. Even if they dislike her, we could just keep her there as a filler until we find someone else for the job."

The board members all began nodding approvingly. Jonathan Conté stood up, "All those in favour of Mr. Queenscove's idea?"

The motion was passed.

Kel had finished Roll Call. Glancing at the clock she saw that she still had ten minuets before homeroom was over. Standing up, she went to the white board and uncapped her marker. Then she wrote in big letters, the words that made the class groan in the face of what they knew to be impending boredom.

RULES

Turning to face the class, Kel smiled again, this time it wasn't so pretty. In fact, it was decidedly evil.

"Rule One," turning she wrote it out on the board. Half the class didn't believe she had written it, and the other half had the sneaking suspicion that this teacher might be trying to be 'Hip' and 'With It'. The very thought had them shuddering.

1) NO SEX IN THE CLASS ROOM

"Don't look at me like that!" Kel said, laughing slightly. Her voice

then turned serious, "but really, I took a part time job as an assistant teacher at a mental health ward. And two of the students were nymphomaniacs…I think the rest speaks for itself."

An appreciative chuckle echoed around the room.

"Rule two."

2) NO CHEWING GUM

"I believe that this one has already been spoken for."

And so it continued. When the bell rang Kel smiled and sent them on their way. After they had all left, Kel began to prepare for her next lesson. They were going to be a tricky bunch this class. They were taking their time to asses her just as she was doing to them. But never let it be said that Kel didn't love a challenge. Class 38 filled into the room.

"Good morning class, my name is Ms. Mindelan."

Yes, it would be a challenge indeed.

A/N: That is so short it is disgraceful but you should be pretty damn happy I managed to churn anything out! I have been caught by the dreaded writers block disease. And damn it, it won't leave me alone! I promise that the next chapter I post will be longer, AND it will have some Kel/Neal interaction. Again, I grovel at your feet for making you wait so long for such a crappy update. But if any of you feel like inspiring me, my email is posted on my bio.

SORRRRRRRRRRY!


	5. Cafes and Housewives

**Title:** Dancing Without The Rain

**Rating:** PG-13

**Summary**: All she ever wanted was to be left alone. All he ever wanted was to live life without any further mishaps. Fate ignored their unsubtle requests, and together, they may be in for more then they expected.

**Categories** Romance/Humour

**Disclaimer: ** blinks in surprise I _don't _own Neal and Kel?

**A/N**: I would like to make it clear, that I have not been learning Spanish for that long, and that the grammar mistakes are kept to a minimum, but I don't have a teacher with me right now so….sorry to all you Spaniards out there, I don't mean to mutilate your language.

♦

The place was a welcome sight. With the cozy setting, and clear windows that held none of the awful lettering that most cafés paste across their windows whose only purpose was to obstruct your view.

Kel smiled up at the familiar peeling gold letters that proudly displayed the word 'Decafé'. Pushing open one of the doors, she slipped inside, closing her eyes as she breathed in the wonderful smell of coffee, hazelnuts, and warm bread the place always smelt of.

"¡Keladry! ¡Tan bueno verle! ¡Cómo hemos faltado su bonito haga frente!"

Marina Sanchez was a big Spanish woman, with bright eyes, and a pleasant face, wrinkled though it was. Almost wider than she was tall, Mrs. Sanchez had been Kel's friend ever since she had come to London. Though Kel had never been a particularly social person, Mrs. Sanchez still took her under her wing. A year later and Kel was almost felt like she had always been a part of the Sanchez family. ((_Keladry!__ So good to see you! How we have missed your pretty face!_))

"Niza para verle también señora Sanchez," said Kel, wincing slightly as Mrs. Sanchez crushed all the bones in her spine as she was swept Kel into a massive bear hug, and kissed soundly on the cheek. ((_Nice to see you too Mrs Sanchez._))

Chattering happily, Mrs. Sanchez led Kel to her usual table. When Kel was seated, Mrs. Sanchez smiled toothily at her, as though she could sense that Kel had had a rough day. It always struck Kel as odd that such reassurance could radiate from such sugar rotten teeth.

Kel sighed gustily and sank back into her chair. Tuesday appeared to be the only day that she didn't have to teach Class 49, and for that she was thankful. It hadn't been too hard sliding into the role of educator with the other classes. Her students were all moderately bright, and while she had spotted a few potential trouble makers, it was nothing she couldn't handle. Smiling gently at José after giving her order, Kel decided she would relax now, and worry about the class later.

♦

Holy crap that was a dull meeting, Neal thought, as he trudged moodily down the street. He hadn't even bothered to skim through the briefing afterwards. To top all of that off, he hadn't had proper coffee. That watery rubbish that he had received at Starbucks didn't count.

Opening the door to his regular establishment, Neal felt himself relax at the familiar surroundings. The Sanchez family smiled at him as he passed them one by one, until he was lead to his usual table. Aranxia, a pretty girl with long hair and an olive complexion skipped over.

"May I take your order Nealan?"

"It's _NEAL_. And I'll just have the usual thanks."

"Okay, I'll be right back."

Neal sat there happily, leaning back into his squashy red armchair. He was just about to drop off when-

It was a nice voice. A decidedly _female_ voice. And he had definitely heard it before. It was speaking in Spanish now, but there was no mistaking it's slightly musical timbre.

"Gracias, pero apenas tendré mi generalmente. ¿A menos que... podría usted hacer el café un pedacito más fuerte?"

((_Thank you, but I'll just have my usual. Except...could you make the coffee a bit stronger?_))

His eyes snapped towards the window, and sure enough, there she was. Her short hair glowed slightly in the light of the slowly sinking sun behind her, and beautiful white teeth (how could this woman possibly be a coffee drinker?) flashed at the waiter, and Neal felt a surge of envy.

"Nealan? Nealan?"

"Wha- What?"

"Your order."

Neal took his food and coffee from Aranxia, before asking, "That woman in the corner, by the window, who is she?"

Aranxia glanced up and the said rather matter-of-factly, "Her? Why, that is our Keladry."

The 'our' seemed to fit perfectly, because as soon a the waiter had left, three children who must have been one of the many sets grandchildren that Mrs. Sanchez had, ran up to the woman called Keladry, and started trying to crawl into her lap, cooing and giggling all the way. Laughing gently, Kel gave each one a hug, and then said that if they were really good, and helped 'Abuela Sanchez' then the next time she came, they might get some sweets. Positively shrieking with joy, the children ran off in search of their grandmother.

"Yes, we all lover very much. Such a shame." Aranxia shook her head sadly

"What is?"

"How that wicked, wicked man just- oh poor querida. She was so heartbroken!"

"Who? What? When?...Why?" Neal was frantic, what could possibly have been so upsetting that Aranxia had almost been reduced to tears?

"Oh no, oh no! ¡No puedo decir! I cannot say! It is a secret that should not be told unless it is absolutely necessary!"

Aranxia quickly left, leaving Neal to ponder, and watch almost helplessly, as Keladry left the establishment.

♦

"I'm back!" Kel called, as she tugged her boots off, placing them carefully on the shoe rack.

There were various calls and salutations before Lalassa said, "Don't forget, it's your turn to cook tonight!"

Groaning slightly, Kel slipped of her coat and flung it unceremoniously onto the settee. What to cook? Whistling tonelessly, she sauntered over to the kitchen.

It was a nice little place, with whitewash floor tiles, and plenty of space, but the downside was the stove. It was old. And by old, she meant that the thing had probably been considered junk in the era this house was first built. Sighing, Kel turned the switch for the gas, and carefully lit up. Placing a large pot of water over it, she added salt, pepper and a splash of vinegar to it. As she bustled around, frying up the mince meat and onions, making sauce, Kel switched off.

This was the main reason she liked cooking, though she'd die before she let anyone know she had any housewifely tendencies. Cooking was a second nature to her, it let her relax and tune out to all of the tension that so often hummed through her life like a bad radio signal.

When the spaghetti was done, Kel called everyone into the dinning room. There was a considerably more relaxed air to the room then there had been the previous night. This was largely due to the fact that, unlike Owen, Kel knew the difference between the salt and sugar containers.

While they were munching happily, Kel told them about her escapades in the classroom, giving Roald time to 'excuse himself' when she mentioned her rules, it all seemed very mundane until Cleon suddenly spoke up.

"If his fidgety manner is any thing to go by, our dear Owen has something to say."

For the second dinner in a row, Owen found himself under the scrutiny of his friends. Blushing slightly, he told them.

There was a brief moment of silence, before Lalassa -surprisingly- started up in a singsong voice, "Owen and Isabella sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I"

For the rest of the night, Owen had to endure the sly looks that were constantly being sent his way.

♦

Snuggled up nicely between her silk sheets, Kel finished up her lesson plan for Class 49. Switching of the light, before she drifted of to sleep, for some reason, the face of that handsome man at the Starbucks kept appearing before her eyes.

**A/N**: Ahhhhhhh, much better isn't it? I can't promise that the next chapter will come out _very_ soon, but I'll try. And remember, if you review, I write faster!

**p.s**: Dom's Lover, where have you been? You didn't review my last chapter! I know I sound like a spoiled brat, but it's your fault for making me addicted to your feedback! Hope to hear from you soon.


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